Rain and Hot Chocolate
by violets92
Summary: Oneshot. Kate and her two favourite things. Plus a bit of Tony. I couldn't resist.


Random oneshot. No pairing, Just a story of Kate and her two favourite things.

Rain and Hot Chocolate

Kate sat at her window, a hot chocolate in hand, staring at the rain hitting the glass. It wasn't something she got to do often. As a teenager, she had done this quite a bit. It was soothing. The feeling of warmth from the mug was a perfect contrast to the heavy rain outside. She looked down at the busy streets. The fact that it rained didn't stop the Saturday shoppers. They all had black and morbid looking umbrellas. Kate could never quite understand that.

Her love for the rain had started when she was five. She had gotten into a fight with her twin brothers and she could remember sitting by the lake near her house. About ten minutes later, it had started pouring, rain mixing with her tears. Kate's older brother had always been the most protective and had always supported her when the twins teased her. She couldn't quite remember the conversation that had occurred by that lake, but she could remember the feeling of warmth and love radiating from her brother's body as he hugged her.

Turning back to her hot chocolate, Kate smiled. That was another one of her favourite things. Her addiction to the warm liquid was established when she was ten. Her parents had tried cutting her off, but eventually gave in due to unbelievable temper tantrums. Since then, every day, no matter how early or late it was, Kate would have a mug of hot chocolate with exactly three marshmallows; two pink, one white. The team had asked about it. Gibbs gave up after a couple of minutes, McGee gave up after about an hour and Tony hadn't actually given up yet…it had been two years since he first asked.

She could hear the thunder rolling in and lightning began to flash. It lit up the sky and made the flock of people move faster. If there was anything Kate loved more than rain, it was storms. Not hurricanes or tornadoes, just plain thunderstorms. Her favourite one had been a few months after she started working at NCIS. Tony, Abby and herself had been up in the bullpen working late. Suddenly, the lightning had flashed and the massive window had portrayed a beautiful image of a perfect lightning bolt lighting up the city. They had all very quickly forgotten their reports and stories and turned to look at the sight. Gibbs hadn't even complained when he saw that his team had been distracted.

Kate turned back to the rest of her, now neglected, apartment. The dim candlelight and soft music only intensified the storm. It was almost romantic. She suddenly heard a knock at her door. Sighing, Kate got up from her very comfy spot on her chair and answered the door. To her shock, she saw a very dishevelled, slightly damp Tony.

"Hey." He said.

"Um, hi. What are you doing here?" She asked, perplexed.

"I was just driving by. The rain's really heavy out there. Do you mind if I stay until it's safe for me and my car to get home safely." Tony threw in a DiNozzo grin, just for effect.

"Yeah, sure, come on in." Kate opened the door a little more to let her partner in.

"Thanks." He looked around. "Wow, saving on electricity Katie?" She rolled her eyes. He just didn't get any better.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand DiNozzo."

"So you're not going to explain?"

"No. I'm not in the mood to explain how I spend my Saturdays to you, Tony. I was having a perfectly good afternoon until you interrupted." Tony smiled.

"Really? Were you watching 'Sleepless in Seattle' again?"

"Please! I turned that movie off after ten minutes. And no. I wasn't." She sat back down in her chair and resumed drinking her hot chocolate. She grimaced as she realised it was only lukewarm.

"Aha! The hot chocolate springs up again!" Tony smirked. Kate rolled her eyes as she got up to refill her cup.

"So what? I have one everyday."

"Oh I know. One large hot chocolate, three marshmallows, two pink, one white. Always the same thing and you've never told me why." He looked at her accusingly.

"Does it matter? I just like my hot chocolate a specific way." She sighed and closed her eyes at the taste of the scorching hot drink running down her throat. When she opened her eyes, she could see Tony looking at her with his mouth hanging open slightly.

"What?" She asked.

"Um, nothing. So what's with all the candlelight and music anyway?"

"I don't know. I just…Well, ever since I was a kid, I've loved the rain. And storms. I used to sit by my bedroom window with a hot chocolate every time it rained. I don't know why, I guess it's soothing. The candlelight and music just add to it, you know?." Kate looked at Tony to see him grinning. Not a mocking grin, just a happy smile.

"What?" She smiled back.

"Nothing. I've just never seen you so…passionate about anything." He shook his head and turned to the window. "This reminds me of that time a couple of years ago when we were at work and that storm just hit." They both smiled.

"Yeah. I was thinking about that earlier. That was amazing."

"Yep. It sure was. I mean, it even got Abby speechless!" Kate laughed. They sat in silence for another ten minutes before Tony spoke again.

"You mind if I have one of your infamous hot chocolates?" He asked with a small smile on his face. "I have to try one."

"Sure. I'll get you one now." Tony watched as Kate moved around the kitchen with a grace he didn't know she had. After about five minutes, she returned with a large, burning mug. "Be careful, it's hot."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that from the name. You know _hot_ chocolate." He smirked.

"Just shut up and drink it." She rolled her eyes as he took a sip. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hot as the mug felt. It was perfect.

"Wow Kate! This is really good!" She laughed.

"Well duh! I've been making them for nearly twenty years." Tony raised his eyebrows.

"You've been having one of these a day for _twenty years_?"

"Well, nearly twenty. I mean, it's no different to Gibbs having his daily coffee, Tony. Except for the fact that he has, like six."

"Hm. I guess not." He turned to Kate and watched her watching the rain. So this was what Kate Todd was really like. Tony made a mental note to visit her every time it rained. He might even learn to love the rain as much as she did.


End file.
